The Board denied service connection for an acquired psychiatric disability, to include PTSD, and denied entitlement to increased ratings for a scar of the lower lip, TDIU, and SMC based on need for aid and attendance or being housebound.
The deciding factor: The evidence did not establish that the Veteran had a current diagnosis of an acquired psychiatric disability, to include PTSD, at any time during the pendency of the claim or recent to its filing. The Board accepted the February 2017 VA examiner's opinion as the most probative medical evidence on the subject.
- Claimed conditions
- Acquired Psychiatric Disability (to include Posttraumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD))
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- November 27, 2019
- Citation
- 19189739
Veterans Law Judge
Decisions by this judge: 2,500 · Granted: 29% (granted or partly granted, in the vetted decisions on this site)
Judge attribution: 2025 complete; earlier years partial.
This is a plain-language summary generated by AI from a public Board of Veterans’ Appeals decision. It can contain errors — always verify against the original. Look up the original decision on VA.gov (opens in a new tab) using citation 19189739.
What this means for you
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What you can do next
Related decisions
Other Board decisions on a similar condition or argued the same way.
- Denied
The Board denied the Veteran's claim for service connection for an acquired psychiatric disability, including PTSD, due to a lack of credible supporting evidence regarding in-service stressors and the absence of a causal relationship between his current condition and service.
- Denied
The Board found that there is no current diagnosis of PTSD or any other acquired psychiatric disability related to service, and thus denied the Veteran's claim for service connection.
- Denied
The Veteran's appeal was denied for a compensable initial rating for bilateral hearing loss. The claim for service connection of an acquired psychiatric disability, to include PTSD, is addressed in the REMAND portion of the decision.
- Granted
The Veteran's current tinnitus is likely related to active military service, and the Board has granted service connection for this condition.
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